Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CCO) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Justin Cochrane: Thanks, Cameron. So. Let me start with the, the America business. The US is really a patchwork of regulatory environments. We have a number of markets that are similar in profile to our Europe North business in that they’re producing 40 to 60% of their revenue digitally. We also have markets that are zero because of the, the regulatory environment and the way that this has played out over years. I think that there’s a long term trend to being able to digitize. But I think, you know, the, the likely outcome in America is probably not as high as it is globally. Until you think about, you know, a very long time away from now just because of the regular court regulatory constraints and the challenges there. In airports, I think it’s, I think it’s different.

And, you know, you’ve seen our digital business grow really, really rapidly. Anybody who’s traveled through the New York airports, which are most contemporary airport implementation has seen just how much digital we use within it. And it really lends itself to the airport environment. Not to say that there’s not plays for static and places where static could make sense. But it, the operational flexibility of the digital and the immediacy of it is extremely attractive in that environment. So, you know, we’re, we’re already in the 50s in the airport in terms of digital penetration, and I could definitely see that that going higher. And the pacing on that will be, you know, refreshes of airports, and frankly where it makes sense because, you know, while digital has gotten cheaper, the kind of implementations we’re doing at JFK and LaGuardia are not going to make sense at regional airports.

And so there’s a, there’s a balance to be struck, but I, I do think that that you’ll see digital as a higher proportion of that airport space. Hopefully that that addresses your question.

Cameron McVeigh: Definitely. Thanks. And then last one, just on the rent abatements, how much longer do you guys expect to continue receiving these abatements? Thanks.

Scott Wells: I’ll, take a stab, and then Dave, you can come in on Americas. I think we’re seeing them cycle through, we haven’t seen anything in Europe. I think we’re, we’re done on the America side. We continue to pursue what we can, but we’re also seeing, the business cycle through that. I think most of them are largely in the airport business, but I’ll turn it over to Dave Saylor, CFO of Americas, to talk about that.

Dave Sailer: Yeah, sure. I’ll start on the airport segment. They’re definitely starting to trickle off as, you know, as we further get away from COVID. But I’d probably point out in the third quarter of 2022, there definitely was a lot, there was a more significant amount of relief as we get into 2023, and that’s going to roll off over time. But the airports group, they’re still, still trickling, some in Q4 and some into 2024, but that there, we’re definitely at the tail end of it. On the America front, there, we’re definitely, you know, seeing the end of the relief from, from a COVID standpoint. And when you think about our site lease, I mean, I’d probably say our biggest headwind as we got into this year, and we’ve mentioned this before, was really that one large contract that we kind of renegotiated, and that’s going to roll off at the end of the third quarter.

So, as we, as we get into next year, a little bit more left on, on airports, but, you know, I think we’ve seen the end of that rope from a, from a America standpoint.

Cameron McVeigh: Great. Appreciate the color. Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from Lance Vitanza from TD Cowen. Lance, your line’s now open. Please proceed.

Lance Vitanza: Thanks for taking the questions and nice job on the quarter. Scott, I think you said that October was maybe the best month this year after a strong September. I’m wondering if you could just refresh what you said there? And then, comment on whether that’s just sort of the favorable seasonality that we’d expect as we get into the fourth quarter. Or would you say there’s real improvement on, if we were to sort of think about a seasonally adjusted kind of the series, would we still feel that October is kind of the best month year to date? Thanks.